LISTENING HABITS QUESTIONS

The easier ones:

You decide before the lecture that the material is boring. (Bad)

You take a minute or two before the lecture to focus your mind, psych yourself for the talk, thinking about why this class might be important to you. (Note: this is key: attitude is the most important thing!) (Good)

You decide either before or during the lecture that you don't like the speaker, whether it's due to their clothing, what they look like, or what they are saying (Bad)

You go into the lecture with your mind not made up. (Good)

The trickier ones:

During the lecture, you listen only for the facts. (Bad)

a tricky one! It's bad because if you only listen to the facts, you may miss the big picture. You want to see how the facts explain the ideas. Facts are most important to explain the principles, ideas, and arguments.

You disagree very strongly with the speaker and start thinking of all the reasons they are wrong. (Bad)

During the lecture you keep eye contact with the speaker and really relax. (Bad)

You don't want to possibly fake eye contact; you don't want to be too relaxed. Don't just "hear," instead "listen."

You do not let distractions like bubble gum, coughing, or the door opening and closing distract you. (Good)

You listen when the material is straightforward and tune out anything complex. (Bad)

During the speaker's pauses, you use the time to think about what you are going to wear to tonight's party. (Bad)

During the speaker's pauses, you use the time to think about whether the coach called the right play during last week's football game. (Bad)

During the speaker's pauses, you use the time to figure out what the speaker is really saying, summarizing the high points, and looking forward to the rest of the talk. (Good)